Power outage makes Super Bowl even more memorable

Super Bowl XLVII will long be remembered by more than 100 million viewers as "the night the lights went out in New Orleans."

Maybe somebody will write a song for this dramatic contest.

If you saw the game, won 34-31 by Baltimore, you know the story.

The Ravens' Jacoby Jones started the second half by running back the kickoff 108 yards -- tying an NFL record -- giving Baltimore a 28-6 lead.

Did the lights go out for the 49ers?

That was the subject tackled by the "NFL Today" crew during the 35 minutes it took to resume play. Dan Marino even suggested it might be a good idea for San Francisco to get quarterback Alex Smith back into the picture.

Before play resumed, Phil Simms said the delay should have "no impact on either team. After all, these guys are professionals."

After the 49ers went on the scoring binge, Simms changed his assessment, saying the Ravens "look flat and are not focused."

By the fourth quarter, Nantz's prophecy, made in the first quarter when Baltimore scored a quick touchdown, took on a special meaning. He told viewers San Francisco was used to trailing early in key playoff games.

While 35 was the most relevant number of the evening, there was another key figure -- 62.

That's the number of cameras CBS Sports used to cover the game -- an all-time high for the network. The network used 33 in the AFC championship game.

Super Bowl coverage normally concentrates on the work of the broadcasting team, which performed professionally.

But the real stars were director Mike Arnold and co-coordinating producer Lance Barrow, who utilized a wide variety of camera angles to provide graphic coverage.

Sunday's game was Arnold's third Super Bowl. Barrow's experience goes back to 1978 when, as a spotter for Pat Summerall, he was involved in Super Bowl XII when the Cowboys beat the Broncos in New Orleans.

The game was the third in the row in which viewers enjoyed a super Super Bowl, following the Giants' win over the Patriots last year and the Packers' win over the Steelers two years ago.

The superb "Road to the Super Bowl" was halfway through its 43rd presentation when it centered on Joe Flacco's last-minute touchdown pass -- the key play that allowed the Ravens to beat the Broncos in the divisional round.

The highly honored NFL Films production, created by the late Steve Sabol, again used graphic game footage with up-close coverage of players' reactions on the field, coaches on sidelines and several emotional locker room scenes.

I still miss the doomsday-style narration of the late John Facenda, known in sports circles as "the voice of God."

More Super Bowl."60 Minutes Sports," airing at 8 p.m. on Wednesday on cable's Showtime, provides an X's-and-O's, behind-the-scenes report on how CBS prepared for and then covered Sunday's game.

Also is an interview with the Sabol family and a feature about how the late, great filmmaker pioneered NFL Films.

Ratings roulette. Broncos games ranked fourth in NFL local viewership during the regular season, reaching an average of 37.2 percent of homes during telecasts on CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN.

The leader, according to Nielsen surveys: Milwaukee (Green Bay), averaging 46.6 percent of TV households. Others in the top five: New Orleans (45.1 percent), Pittsburgh (44.1) and New England (36.4).

The Saints had the highest local viewership the previous season, averaging 51 percent of the audience during games.

Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Contact him at tvtime@comcast.net.